Journey of the Art

I’m truly honored to share this episode with Summer Brenner, fiction writer, poet, and the oldest guest on the show (Summer turned 80 this year)!

In this episode, we step back in time to the 1950s through her memoir, DUST. We discuss her encounters with racism and being Jewish in the South, caring for her brother who suffered from schizophrenia, dealing with her father’s suicide, other complexities with her family, and her thoughts ...

In this episode, my guest is Adedayo Agarau, author of The Years of Blood, a poetry collection that explores trauma, memory, anxiety, and immigration. 

Listen as we discuss the lack of emergency on ritual killings and abductions that inspired him to take on this subject, his struggles with mental health, and the ways community and religion impacted his ability to deal with his struggles. 

Show highlights

00:00 – introduction

03:10 ...

In this episode with Saad Omar Khan, we discuss depression, faith, unrequited love, and the connections between these. We explore these in Khan’s latest work, Drinking the Ocean, which tells the story of Murad, whose carefully constructed reality is upset by a chance encounter with a long lost love. Set in England, Canada, and Pakistan, Drinking the Ocean forces us to contemplate deep questions on faith and family responsibility.

 D...

What do math and art have in common? For most of my life, I’ve heard that these two concepts (and subjects) belonged in different worlds, but in this episode, we explore the intersection points between these two and how one helps the other.

00:00 - Introduction

2:10 - How art helped Jennifer through her personal struggle with math

6:33 - How important is art in teaching math?

11:06 - Creative strategies for older kids learning

math

14:4...

In Episode 28, I’m joined by Kate Jenks Landry, author of A Summer Without Anna, to discuss the hardship children face when a family member is sick.

When we think about sickness, especially those requiring hospitalizations and long-term care, the focus is on the patient and rightfully so. But what happens to the children in the family, who often have to live with a relative or family friend? Is there any impact of this separation on...

What parallels can be drawn between personal and societal crisis?

In this episode, I’m joined by James Cairns, professor and writer of the essay collection, In Crisis, On Crisis, to discuss what happens when we examine crisis not just from the lens of societal injustice and political upheaval but also from the lens of personal, secret struggles.

James opens up about overcoming alcohol addiction, and we discuss the impact of his revel...

What do ADHD and ship salvage have in common? 

In this episode of the Journey of the Art podcast, Elizabeth Rynecki and I discuss her six-part podcast series, That Sinking Feeling, exploring the similarities between her father’s job in ship salvage and her son’s ADHD struggles. 

When Elizabeth completed her non-fiction memoir and began looking for her next project, an unlikely convergence of ideas occurred to her. Sorting through her...

Who really was Isabel de Saavedra? And was she really as cruel as history portrays her?

In Episode 25, Martha Bátiz tells me what inspired her to reimagine the stories of Miguel de Cervantes, his sisters, wife, and daughter, Isabel de Saavedra, in her latest historical novel, A Daughter’s Place.

Set in 16th-century Spain, the historical fiction revolves around Miguel’s daughter, Isabel, who finds out after her mother’s death that h...

I’m joined by poet, scholar, and renowned translator Radha Chakravarty for a powerful conversation on the crossroads between translation and literature, feminism in writing, and the inner work of creating across languages.

We explore Radha’s life as a multilingual writer in India, her deep relationship with Tagore’s work, and what it means to be a translator of emotion, memory, and resistance. From pandemic poetry to the importance...

“Whatever my life story is, the last line cannot be: ‘And then he died in Texas.’” — Alex R Johnson

In this episode, I’m joined by filmmaker and debut author Alex R Johnson to unpack the story behind his debut novel, how screenwriters are robbed of creative ownership, and what it takes to push past imposter syndrome—even at 50.

Show Highlights

00:00 Introduction

3:11 Leaving Brooklyn for Texas and the problem with copyright laws for ...

In this episode, children’s book author and illustrator Thao Lam opens up about her latest picture book, Everybelly—a joyful celebration of body diversity and inclusion for young readers.

We discuss:

• How her daughter’s first comments on her body sparked the book’s creation

• The power of bellies as a storytelling lens

• Raising kids to love their bodies in a judgmental world

• Cultural identity, food, and body image

• Her creative process, a...

What happens when poetry meets climate crisis?

In this episode, I’m joined by award-winning poet Farah Ghafoor to discuss her poetry collection, Shadow Price, from House of Anansi Press.

Taking its title from an economics term—the estimated value of things without a clear market price—Shadow Price explores themes of climate change, capitalism, colonialism, and the multigenerational impact of biodiversity loss. Farah shares ho...

In Episode 20, I chat with Kid Haile, author and illustrator of Sometimes I Eat with My Hands. We explore the intersection of food, culture, and identity and how mealtime traditions shape our sense of belonging. Kid shares his journey from science to art, how his daughter inspired his book, the deep meaning behind the Ethiopian dish, injera, and the role of food in preserving cultural heritage.

Sometimes I Eat with My Hands gives u...

How can we help kids understand and process their emotions? This episode features Sandra V. Feder, author of the Emotions and Me series, to discuss her latest book, Shy Me. We explore the power of storytelling in helping children navigate their feelings, from anger and shyness to peace and resilience.

Sandra shares how her experiences as a parent and observer of children’s emotions inspired this series. We also discuss how Shy Me en...

What will we see about ourselves when we look at the past?

In this episode, I’m chatting with Jack Wang about his debut novel, The Riveter. We discuss themes of love, betrayal, honour, and identity.

Jack tells me how he was able to narrow down his research to the most important things and honour the past by carefully relocating it in present bodies. I learned a lot from Jack, and I think this episode is a great resource for anyone w...

In this episode, I sit down with author Jenny Haysom to discuss the themes of keeping and losing in her novel, Keep. We explore the delicate balance between motherhood and creativity, the struggle of carving out solitude as a writer, and the impact of community on personal growth. We also look into the world of home staging, hoarding, and the emotional weight of objects.  

Keep tells the moving story of two home stagers and their cl...

In this episode, I reunite with Jonaki Ray (who I met in 2019 as a co-recipient of the Iceland Writers Retreat Alumni Award) to explore the themes of home, belonging, and the delicate dance between art and science in her poetry collection, Firefly Memories. 

Part memoir and travelogue, Firefly Memories is a poignant collection that speaks to the struggles of belonging, blending beauty, food, and memory to confront hardship and heart...

In this episode, I sit down with A.K. Herman, Caribbean poet and fiction writer, to discuss her latest work, The Believers. This compelling collection of eight short stories, mostly set in Trinidad and Tobago, explores themes of religion, politics, love, sex, and spirituality. A.K.’s storytelling pays homage to the storytelling traditions of the Caribbean.

A Goodreads Editors’ December Book Pick, The Believers captivates with its...

If you’re a freelance artist wondering if there’s a secret to landing big clients in your industry, there is, and this episode will tell you what it is! Episode 14 of the podcast is with Feyisayo Oyebisi (aka Feyzo!), who I've known for over ten years. 

Feyzo! is a makeup artist and special effects professional who has worked on the biggest productions in Nigeria’s movie industry, including A Naija Christmas and Everybody Loves Je...